From Creation to Adoption: How to Develop and Deploy Successful Edtech
This report explores how improving the process by which edtech is developed and deployed in the marketplace can result in greater classroom impact for adult educators and learners.
In this third report Power in Numbers examines how edtech stakeholders can rethink the development and deployment process to ensure greater learner impact. We identify three typical pathways by which edtech comes to market and enters the classroom, and the common pitfalls that limit edtech impact.
Through this analysis, we determine key actions stakeholders can take to improve outcomes:
- Developers can shift from occasional to long-term user engagement throughout the product development process.
- Employers can engage in the creation and classroom integration of tech tools.
- Administrators can seek out research and data in adult edtech efficacy to inform purchase decisions.
- Educators must receive professional development to effectively integrate tech tools.
- Funders can collaborate with employers to sponsor adult edtech tool development that addresses skills gaps in the workforce.
This document was funded by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education under the project titled “Power in Numbers: Advancing Math for Adult Learners” (OER Math project), Contract Number: ED-VAE-14-D-0006/0004, and it includes input from adult education practitioners, researchers, and policy experts.
This document is the third in a series of reports on the state of the technology market for adult learners.
The first report highlighted many problems that technology solutions face in serving the unique needs of adult learners. The second report focused on solutions and made the case for further investment in technologies that can be transformative for adult education. This third report unpacks why many edtech products experience suboptimal outcomes in terms of efficacy and utilization, and proposes solutions.
In identifying the roles that key stakeholders can play in improving edtech, the report identifies what an ideal product development and adoption pathway could look like, to the benefit of adult learners.
We aim to draw attention to the unique dynamics in adult education that key stakeholders can effectively address. We hope to provide a blueprint for decision-makers that can improve the process and, therefore, outcomes of adult edtech development.
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